Chapter 18: 18

Chapter 18

Chapter 18: The Tsujikawa Family

Translated by Dawn

 

Chapter 18: The Tsujikawa Family

“What’s with the paper bag? You didn’t have it with you when you were at school.”

“A cake I bought on the way here. I’m going to apologize, so I need something like this, don’t I?”

“It’s not that big of a deal, don’t worry about it……”

“But I’m worried.”

If you say so, there were no more words from me.

“I’ve never been this way before. ……Ah, there is a park here. I didn’t know.”

“There’s nothing unusual here.”

“I was just looking at it, thinking, ‘Narumi must walk here every day.’”

“It’s nothing interesting.”

“It’s interesting. And I’m happy.”

“Are you a……park fanatic?”

“What’s that?”

“I don’t know.”

It was just a road, paved with asphalt. There were trees planted at regular intervals along the edges and a small park nearby. There was nothing particularly interesting about it. But Kazemiya said it was interesting and made her happy.  ……. I don’t understand. Is Kazemiya has a unique taste?

“Have you ever been to that park earlier?”

“Only once when I moved here. It’s not that big, and there’s only a bench to sit on.”

“Then. If that park was more comfortable, would you have come to that family restaurant?”

“I don’t know. The most important thing to remember is that I can’t afford to spend a lot of time in the park at night because I’m on my way home from my part-time job…….it’s a problem during the rainy season like now, too.”

“Rainy season……oh, come to think of it, it’s already June.”

“Yeah. Just when you think the midterms are finally over, the final exam period starts at the end of the month…….”

“But you got good grades on the midterms, didn’t you?”

“Thanks to you. I know that Kazemiya’s grades went up as well.”

“Thanks to you, too.”

During the period before the test, I was indeed absent from my part-time job. However, we didn’t want to stay at home, so we held study sessions at a family restaurant.

Perhaps it was because of this that our scores improved overall from the final test at the end of the first year.

By the way, Kazemiya was in 24th place and I was in 58th place. As a side note, Natsuki was in thirteenth place, and Raimon Shiori, the new student council president, was in first place in her grade.

“Speaking of the midterm test, Kazemiya back then was a little distant.”

“……is that so?”

“Yes, that’s right. I think it was right after the class gathering party……I feel like you were often turned away from me. I was not sure if I was being avoided.”

“I’m sorry…….I wasn’t avoiding you, I was just letting things cool down.”

“Cool down?”

“You know, that one.”

I guess Kazemiya had her own reasons. I had no idea what they were, though.

“We’ve arrived. It’s here.”

As we were talking, we arrived at my house, which I had moved into less than three months earlier.

“……[Tsujikawa]”

Kazemiya muttered quietly when she saw the word “Tsujikawa” engraved on the nameplate of a single-family house.

“As I told you before, my family name is now Tsujikawa. Narumi is my mother’s family name. ……By the way, before ‘Narumi’……before my mother got divorced, my last name was ‘Kiritsuki’. This is my father’s name. So this is the third last name I’ve had.”

“I’ve never heard of that one.”

“I just told you. I think Natsuki is the only other person in my family who knows about this.”

“…are you sure you want to tell me all this?”

“It’s a little late for that, isn’t it?”

“You’re right, but, it’s a very sensitive subject.”

“I told you because you are Kazemeiya. If it had been anyone else, I wouldn’t have told them this much.”

“…hmm.”

Kazemiya turned her eyes away from me and began to fiddle with her hair with her fingertips.

Come to think of it, since our exclusive class gathering party, whenever Kazemiya looked away from me, she always fiddled with her hair with her fingers like this. I wonder if this is his way of “cooling down.”

“Well, let’s not stand around here and talk. Let’s go in.”

I tried to say it out loud and found myself inwardly tilting my head, “Huh?”

I was trying to get into this house, which was usually difficult to enter and uncomfortable for me.

If I were allowed to do it, it would be easier for me to just stand here and talk with her.

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Without time to think about why I opened the door and invited Kazemiya into the entranceway.

“Excuse me.”

Kazemiya, who had ritually placed her shoes on the floor, followed me with a somewhat nervous look on her face.

I heard the sound of a keyboard being typed in the living room. Is she working?

Kazemiya, who had heard in advance from me that my mom was running a writing business, spoke quietly so that she couldn’t hear her in the living room.

The fact that she didn’t even notice the sound of the door opening would suggest that she was pretty focused on her work.

I should have told her that Kazemiya is coming to our house today, but……

“I wonder…let’s just leave her alone. For now…”

The living room was unusable. So, the only way was to go upstairs.

The only place where I could take Kazemiya was…….

“You want to wait in my room?”

“…Yeah. I’ll do that.”

I had cleaned up my room to perfection in preparation for today.

I was so anxious about it that I was constantly tidying up during the exam period.

Perfectly prepared. No stone was left unturned.

“…Heh. So this is Narumi’s room. It’s a lot tidier than I thought it would be.”

“Don’t stare too much.”

“Are you hiding something weird?”

“No, nothing like that.”

“I’m just kidding.”

Kazemiya laughs a little. I felt like I’m being teased.

“Let me put the cake on my desk.”

“Thanks.”

I received a paper bag containing a cake as a souvenir from Kazemiya and put it on my desk.

I would have liked to put it in the refrigerator right away, but there would be refrigerant in it, and since we were indoors, there would be nothing to worry about.

“Well, just sit wherever you want and make yourself at home.”

When I urged her to do so while sitting on a chair myself, Kazemiya simply sat down on the—bed as if she were flowing.

(….ah.)

Oh, shoot. That’s right. My room had neither a table nor a cushion like a seat cushion.

And since I was sitting on a chair, the only place to sit down was the bed.

“What’s wrong?”

“….I curse my own carelessness and lack of preparation.”

“Hm?”

It was unexpected. I didn’t realize how aware I would be just by having a non-family member of the opposite sex sitting on the bed I normally use.

What perfect preparation? There were holes all over the place.

“It’s nothing. It’s more like……oh, yeah. That’s it. I’m going to go downstairs and check on my mom.”

Like that, I escaped from my room halfway.

……my face is hot. I hope it cools down by the time I get back.

***

“…I wonder what’s wrong.”

Narumi ran away and left the room.

I was left alone and I was a bit bored. I was certainly curious about Narumi’s room, but I didn’t have the taste to ransack it without permission.

“……”

Suddenly, I became aware of where I was sitting.

Narumi’s bed……Narumi usually sleeps here.

“If you don’t come back soon, I will fall asleep…”

My body naturally chose to roll over onto the bed.

“…It smells like Narumi.”

It was as if he was……embracing me as if he was wrapping around my whole body. I even have such an illusion.

“Why am I like this…calm down.”

Ah. Not good. I’m getting……sleepy.

Because I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t sleep last night, and when I thought I was going to NARUMI’s house, I was so nervous and excited……that I couldn’t sleep, so I played a game.

…I can’t fall asleep. I came here today to apologize.

But…I can’t meet Narumi’s mom in a sleep-deprived state.

So……just for a little bit……if it’s just a little bit…just for a moment until Narumi comes back…it’s okay, right?

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